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Monday, September 27, 2010

Hang Loose Buns, Baked

These are my breakfast buns, duuude. I have had one of these for breakfast every morning for like yeeears. They're toootally cool buns, maaaan. They're easy to make, they don't require a whole lot of effort on my end, there's no kneading-dough-on-a-floured-surface mess to clean up, and they're made with wholesome ingredients. Toootally aaawesome, duuude.

1. In a large bowl stir together the flours, oat bran, flax seeds, sugar, salt, and yeast. Add the water, milk, and oil and stir with a large spoon until a smooth dough forms. It should only take a few stirs, dude. At this point you'll think it looks way too soft, but the oat bran and the flax seeds are going to be quite thirsty and they will drink up some of the liquid while the dough rises. The dough shouldn't be soupy, but it will be fairly soft. If it is soupy add a bit more flour. Cover and let the dough rise for 45 minutes. Take a nap and chillax, man.

2. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Take chunks of dough and shape them into balls. How many? Whatever, dude. I get nine or ten buns out of one batch, but if you want big monster-buns you can shape them into bigger balls. Place the dough balls on the baking sheet as you shape them and brush the tops and sides with a little bit of rice milk. Let them rise for 30 minutes.*

3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the buns look toasty brown. Remove from the oven and let them sit on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring to a cooooling rack.

Serve warm and preferably, toasted.

For best results:

* I don't proof my yeast because it doesn't have enough time to lose its potency in this house. I bake something with yeast two or three times a week. But if your yeast is old and you suspect it might not be active anymore then go ahead and proof it.

* Do you have a meat thermometer? It was one of the best investments I've ever made, because I make sure all liquids that I use in yeast breads are perfectly warm (110 degrees F) which makes the yeast happy. And the thermometer is totally cool about not having anything to do with meat. No worries, duuude.

* Placing the baking sheet on the stove top as the oven preheats and the buns rise also makes the yeast happy.

* Sometimes I like adding two tablespoons of vital wheat gluten along with the flours, for a change. It makes them a bit chewier but I think I prefer them without the extra gluten.

* These buns aren't all that at room temperature, but they're totally righteous straight out of the oven or sliced in half and toastily toasted.

All puns intended. I'm not stoned. I just had a tofu scramble and you know how soy makes me all dopey! Why so relaxed? Because Halloweegan starts next Friday and there will be plenty crazy going on then! Whoooo!!! I mean, aaawesome, duuude.

I'm starting a new blog feature called Blog-Love. From now on I will randomly choose one of my favorite blogs and I will tell you a little bit about them at the end of each post. This week's Blog-Love goes out to Susan @ Kittens Gone Lentil! When Susan isn't cooking up vegan deliciousness and making cookbooks look irresistible, she's off being a super-vet and saving kitties with her magical powers! Susan is a true cat hero! She always ends her food posts with a perfect dessert: a very sweet "Cute Kitty Photo of the Post." Check out Susan's blog!

Thanks for all the awesome comments, duuudes! I'm so glad you guys like the new Blog-Love feature! I will make a separate page where all the Blog-Love recepients will be neatly listed :D

Breakfast buns probably aren't a very traditional breakfast, but I'm not a very traditional person. Maybe it's all the awesome breads you always blog about that made me breakfast-bread-lover, Mihl! And by the way, Hannah and Shelby, you just reminded me that I had blogged about a similar recipe a couple of years ago, which were actually stove-top english muffins!

Stephanie, I couldn't comment on your blog so I'll answer right here. If you can't find rye flour you can always replace it with more whole wheat flour. And even though oat bran and ground oats aren't the same thing, you can also use those instead of the bran. You will probably have to use less water, so you might want to start with 1/2 cup of water and add more if the dough isn't soft enough. I hope that helps! Good luck! :)